Would this Insignia be a decent upgrade?

[HiI'mBrian]

OK ... so back in 2002 with some graduation money, I picked up an RCA HTiB. It has been a fine and functioning system to this day. I have been running my PS3 through optical cable with it, but now I can't get it to play anything out of the surround speakers.

Thought maybe it was just a setting, so I tryed an 5.1 DD cd I have (new Between The Buried And Me album) yet it still played nothing out of surrounds even though the "dolby digital" icon was lit instead of "dsp".

Now I am on a VERY small budget right now and this looks to be a solid player with overall good reviews, just want to know if it is worty of upgrading to until a later date when I have more free room to go big. the RCA speakers still sound fine, so I would just be changing receivers for now.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Insignia...iver&cp=1&lp=3




and sure I know this answer, should I just fork the extra $30 and get http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Pioneer+...&skuId=9238942 instead?

[Steve]

Of the two definitely go with the Pioneer. However, be aware that often HTiB speakers have an unusually low impedance rating. You'll want to find the specs for the system you have an make sure the speakers impedance rating is compatible with that of the receiver. In the case of the Pioneer that's probably going to be 6-16 Ohms. I didn't see the impedance listed for the Insignia model. If the HTiB speakers are rated at 4 Ohms or less I wouldn't use them with a new receiver.

[Rob J in WNY]

The Pioneer is the clear choice, especially for just $30 more. At the very least, the Pioneer has room calibration and will decode lossless DTS HD-Master Audio (according to the Best Buy ad, the Insignia will decode Dolby TrueHD lossless, but not DTS-HD Master Audio lossless). This is a big deal, especially if your blu ray player doesn't decode them internally, because DTS-HD Master Audio is appearing on more and more movies as the soundtrack of choice these days.

If you really want to exponentially improve the quality of your receiver, and you do not mind making your purchases online, then Newegg.com is selling the Onko HT-RC160, which are also in this price area.

Onkyo HT-RC160 - $329.00 (no tax and free shipping in continental US)

You'll get 7.2 channel capability (should you want to upgrade to it in the future), and plenty of input options, plus room calibration, video upscaling (via Faroudja chip), 5 HDMI inputs, and a whole lot of bang for your home theater buck. I'm a big fan of Pioneer, but the Onkyo is offering greater features for a minimal amount more than the Pioneer at this price point.

One concern that I have is that if you go with a new receiver, your RCA HTIB speakers may have too low of an impedance for them which, despite their small size, can still cause amplifier strain. Also, you will need to get a powered (amplified) subwoofer for use with any of these receivers. If I'm not mistaken, your RCA HTIB powers your sub for you.

I can tell you that as much as you liked your RCA system, upgrading to the receivers mentioned will bring your enjoyment of home theater to a significantly higher level.

Welcome to the fun world of "upgrade-itis," Brian!

[HiI'mBrian]

I can tell I got this well before I knew anything about this stuff, haha. what i have now: http://reviews.cnet.com/home-theater...7-9498616.html

jeeeeez. hahaha wow.

After looking at that, knowing the bits I do know now about audio, ANYTHING will be an upgrade. I may have to hold off though, and wait until I can just get new speakers and all at once.

[Steve]

That link didn't work for me.

When it comes to upgrading, I recommend doing it piece by piece. All you really need to get going is a receiver and front speakers. Whether that's left and right speakers or left, right, and center speakers depends on your budget. Anyway, receiver and mains first, center speaker next, then subwoofer, and surrounds last and you'll have a very nice setup.

[HiI'mBrian]

if you want to see the awesomeness of the current rig (lol) it is the RCA RT2280


thanks for the advice, now time to start pricing some front speakers as well.

[Steve]

Originally Posted by HiI'mBrian

if you want to see the awesomeness of the current rig (lol) it is the RCA RT2280


thanks for the advice, now time to start pricing some front speakers as well.

Go out and listen to some and see what you like. Don't buy speakers you don't like the sound of thinking you'll get used to them. If you don't like them odds are you'll never like them. Energy and Polk are easy to find, affordable, and generally well-liked brands and would be good places to start. You could even go listen to these brands and then order them off the internet to get the best deal possible. There are also some internet direct companies that offer speaker packages like SVS. Even though you can't listen to them first, they're also generally well-liked and IIRC have a good return policy in case you don't care for them.

[quest88]

Originally Posted by Rob J in WNY

The Pioneer is the clear choice, especially for just $30 more. At the very least, the Pioneer has room calibration and will decode lossless DTS HD-Master Audio (according to the Best Buy ad, the Insignia will decode Dolby TrueHD lossless, but not DTS-HD Master Audio lossless). This is a big deal, especially if your blu ray player doesn't decode them internally, because DTS-HD Master Audio is appearing on more and more movies as the soundtrack of choice these days.

If you really want to exponentially improve the quality of your receiver, and you do not mind making your purchases online, then Newegg.com is selling the Onko HT-RC160, which are also in this price area.

Onkyo HT-RC160 - $329.00 (no tax and free shipping in continental US)

You'll get 7.2 channel capability (should you want to upgrade to it in the future), and plenty of input options, plus room calibration, video upscaling (via Faroudja chip), 5 HDMI inputs, and a whole lot of bang for your home theater buck. I'm a big fan of Pioneer, but the Onkyo is offering greater features for a minimal amount more than the Pioneer at this price point.

One concern that I have is that if you go with a new receiver, your RCA HTIB speakers may have too low of an impedance for them which, despite their small size, can still cause amplifier strain. Also, you will need to get a powered (amplified) subwoofer for use with any of these receivers. If I'm not mistaken, your RCA HTIB powers your sub for you.

I can tell you that as much as you liked your RCA system, upgrading to the receivers mentioned will bring your enjoyment of home theater to a significantly higher level.

Welcome to the fun world of "upgrade-itis," Brian!

I know the Onkyo is a 7.2 receiver but I hope you are not implying to the O.P. that the entry level HT-RC160 is a step up from the pioneer he was looking at.

[HiI'mBrian]

upon checking the speakers I have currently, surprisingly ... the impendance is 8ohms.

[Steve]

Originally Posted by HiI'mBrian

upon checking the speakers I have currently, surprisingly ... the impendance is 8ohms.

That's good news. That means you can use them with any receiver you buy. So now you can upgrade your receiver, then the mains and so on as I described before. You can also continue to use your existing speakers as surrounds until you've upgraded them.